![Spiel des Jahres](https://blog.recommend.games/posts/spiel-des-jahres-2022-winners/sdj-all_huadd06905d11f3fb99b59b554926b90d9_215760_0x300_resize_box_3.png)
The cat’s out of the bag and the winners have been announced! As mentioned before, this year was the first time the ceremony was held on a Saturday evening and I had the immense pleasure of attending it in person. In case you missed my very profesional live coverage on Twitter, here’s a summary of the event.
But without further ado, here are the winners of Spiel des Jahres and Kennerspiel des Jahres 2022!
Spiel des Jahres 2022
![Spiel des Jahres 2022](https://blog.recommend.games/posts/spiel-des-jahres-2022-winners/sdj-2022_hu5e3fdd001a190ae36adaf7998bfd8a92_125358_0x300_resize_box_3.png)
Cascadia
1–4 players, 30–45 minutes, 10+ years, medium light (1.9)
![Cascadia](https://blog.recommend.games/posts/spiel-des-jahres-2022-winners/295947_hu04e55d578b6de23601c41937f2780f66_214784_0x300_resize_q75_box.jpg)
In the end, it was the favourite that won Spiel des Jahres 2022. It’s the first award I called wrong in three years – still not a bad quota I guess. 🤷 Somewhat ironically, Cascadia remains the only game of the six nominees I haven’t played yet, but after playing SCOUT and Top Ten, I do see how those games might not be for everyone. On the other hand, the positivity towards Cascadia was overwhelming – it’s rare to see the ‘geek crowd being so enthusiastic about the jury’s decision. All in all, it appears Cascadia will make a great ambassador for the hobby board gaming.
Kennerspiel des Jahres 2022
![Kennerspiel des Jahres 2022](https://blog.recommend.games/posts/spiel-des-jahres-2022-winners/ksdj-2022_hu0f3c9f87fd3a7a0e3cb48d0f81b65cf5_115738_0x300_resize_box_3.png)
Living Forest
1–4 players, 40 minutes, 10+ years, medium light (2.2)
![Living Forest](https://blog.recommend.games/posts/spiel-des-jahres-2022-winners/328479_hu70dfef88591deb7e0d4efa019afc5358_375287_0x300_resize_q75_box.jpg)
This award I got right, and as you could read from my previous post, I very much agree with this decision. Similar to the red award, I could see good reasons why the other Kennerspiel nominees Cryptid and Dune: Imperium have a bit narrower audiences, but I think Living Forest hits the sweetspot of a games that’s “one step up” from a Spiel whilst still remaining fairly accessible. I’m certain many many people will enjoy planting those trees and extinguishing those forest fires as much as I do.
Conclusion
I feel like I say this every year, but I think we’ve had another very strong year with six excellent nominees that also were very different from each other. I blame the uniform strength on my first wrong call since I started these predictions. 😉
Attending the award ceremony will make this a very special year for me, and I hope I’ll soon find the time to write a little article about my experience in Berlin.
As always, this has been great fun and I hope to be back with my predictions for Spiel des Jahres 2023!